Editing Mifepristone (section)

===1988–1990===
On 21 October 1988, in response to antiabortion protests and concerns of majority (54.5%) owner Hoechst AG of Germany, Roussel-Uclaf's executives and board of directors voted 16 to 4 to stop distribution of mifepristone, which they announced on 26 October 1988.<ref name="RU-486" /><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=A1 | vauthors = Greenhouse S |date=27 October 1988 |title=Drug maker stops all distribution of abortion pill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/27/us/drug-maker-stops-all-distribution-of-abortion-pill.html |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014315/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/27/us/drug-maker-stops-all-distribution-of-abortion-pill.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref> Two days later, the French government ordered Roussel-Uclaf to distribute mifepristone in the interests of public health.<ref name="RU-486" /><ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Greenhouse S |date=29 October 1988 |title=France ordering company to sell its abortion drug |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/29/world/france-ordering-company-to-sell-its-abortion-drug.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235250/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/29/world/france-ordering-company-to-sell-its-abortion-drug.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> French Health Minister [[Claude Évin]] explained: "I could not permit the abortion debate to deprive women of a product that represents medical progress. From the moment Government approval for the drug was granted, RU-486 became the moral property of women, not just the property of a drug company."<ref name="RU-486" /> Following use by 34,000 women in France from April 1988 to February 1990 of mifepristone distributed free of charge, Roussel-Uclaf began selling Mifegyne (mifepristone) to hospitals in France in February 1990 at a price (negotiated with the French government) of {{USD|48|1990}} per 600-mg dose.<ref name="RU-486" />